We all have those video games whose soundtrack we can never get out of our heads. Whether it be the captivating wind instruments from the lost woods in Ocarina of Time or the simple 8-bit earworm that never dies from Tetris I think that it can be agreed on that music has the capacity to not only set video games on different levels of greatness, but to make a game truly timeless. Today’s Web Crush explores the true impact of these memorable tunes on this generation’s composers.
I actually stumbled upon this site a very, very long time ago while looking for remixes of the ‘Serenade of Water’ from Ocarina of Time. Although my tastes in music have shifted from that time—I’m all about the Gerudo Valley these days—I’m still continuously impressed by the quantity and quality of tracks that find their way onto Overclocked Remix (shorthand: OC Remix). In fact, the rate that it has expanded in my nearing eight years of knowing of its existence is somewhere between startling and inspiring.
In terms of ‘startling’, I’m scolding myself for even thinking that. Looking at some of the more popular acts within the video game community, there’s a very strong group that utilize these games if not in name, but in samples and riffs within their own tracks. A good example of this is The Protomen, whose name is not only based on a character from the Mega Man series of games, and whose music takes cues from the plot of the games as well. Also, it seems now more than ever we have a large group of gamers that are endlessly yearning for satiation to their hunger for nostalgia. We have shirts in Hot Topic that feature 8-bit characters, at cons there are tournaments for older games like Pokémon Stadium and Goldeneye—although to consider the N64 era as nostalgic as say, the SNES, makes me feel really old—so to think that music wouldn’t also try to cash in on these trends is rather shortsighted of myself.
Luckily, at OC Remix you won’t have to “cash in” on anything as all the music is free for download. All of their music is neatly organized and easy to find. While you may not find a track for every game you’re looking for—I was a touch disappointed to find they didn’t have any Ganbare Goemon remixes—they’ll no doubt have at least one track that catches your eye. Or ear, rather.
Lady Geek Girl and Friends 